Monday, October 18, 2010

I have joined the Hudson Valley Homeschoolers Roots and Shoots group. We had our first meeting at Burger Hill near Rhinebeck. It was really fun. Jojo made this video.Roots & Shoots is a program of the Jane Goodall Institute, giving youth of all ages the opportunity to improve our world through service-learning projects promoting care and concern for the environment, the human community, and animals.

Monday, October 11, 2010

A few weeks ago we went to the Met and saw this strange but cool bamboo sculpture. They offer guided tours where you can climb on it, but you had to be 10 years old! I was annoyed.Luckily, I got to play with the radio powered boats in Central Park!

It was my birthday last month (Sept. 16th). I had a super fun day. There was a lot of singing by the Kid Beatles.And lots of jumping...And lots of little tiny cupcakes!Little Vera liked the little cupcakes!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

I saw a short documentary on PBS about Edison2’s Very Light Car. It is super light (800lbs) and not only drives fast, but can drive super fast. It is shaped like nail so that it cuts through the air and along the road. The designers at Edison2 say that it can go one hundred miles on one gallon of gas. This would make the car better for world than other cars, even electric ones. They say that a “very light and aerodynamic car is more efficient than a heavier one with more drag, no matter what type of power source is used.” The designers hope to win a big prize of 10 million dollars and then they can make the car so perhaps everyone could buy one. I would like to drive one. I like that it goes fast and like the shape and the snazzy wheels.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Back on the ship, Scotty and the rest of the crew were relieved to see Kirk, Spock, and Uhura when beam-up was complete. But Scotty said he needed a private conversation with Captain Kirk, They went into the engine rooms and Scotty whispered, “The engines almost exploded while you were gone.”

Kirk’s eyes widened like space saucers. “What happened? What made them nearly explode? Are the engines working okay now?”

Scotty nodded. “The heart was the problem. Its vibrations were too strong for the ship. Her engine’s are old, Captian. They couldn’t stand the shaking. Hopefully it’s over now.”

But just as he said that, there was huge burping noise and the whole engine room shuddered like a subway train out of control.

“Oh no, sir. It’s happening again.”

Kirk looked around and shouted to Scotty. “keep an eye on the engines. I’ll get back to the bridge.”

Kirk stumbled his way through the wobbling corridors. It was like being in a force 10 earthquake. When he finally reached the bridge, the crew was staring up at the window again. The green landscape was disappearing. It looked like they were heading for a big dark hole.

“Can’t we turn the ship around, Mr. Zulu?” Kirk asked.

Mr. Zulu shook his head. “No, sir. We have lost control!”

The ship bumped and tumbled and twisted and turned and entered the deep black hole. The crew shrieked and shouted. It felt like they were on a super-galactic rollercoaster.

But then there was a deafening noise, like air being sucked out of a giant balloon. Kirk looked up from the floor where he landed. Out of the window, he saw billions of stars and the familiar indigo-black space around them.

Spock pulled himself back into his seat. He looked at the stars and raised one eyebrow. “Sir, I think we just came out of the poophole!”

Monday, September 27, 2010

Sunday, September 19, 2010

“You’re right, Spock. We’ve been swallowed,” said Kirk, shaking his head and still looking out at the strange green sight.

Then Uhura asked, “But what swallowed us? And how did it get here, in the middle of space? And why did it swallow us?”

Kirk turned to Uhura. “Good questions. We must found out the answers!”

Spock saw something else out of the window. “Sir, I see something strange. Is that a heart?”

Everyone on the bridge stared up at the window. The heart was huge, and a rainbow of colors: blue, green, yellow, red, purple, and black. It was beating like a mad and hungry ape.

As the Enterprise got closer it started to shake with the heart’s vibrations.

Kirk shouted, “To the transporter room. Follow me, Mr Spock. Uhura.”

In the transporter room, Scotty was taking a nap. He woke up with a start as Kirk blasted through the door.

“Wh….Wh…what is it, Sir?”

Kirk jumped onto the transporter platform. Spock and Uhura followed.

“Beam us down, Scotty,” Kirk commanded.

Scotty rubbed his sleepy eyes. “Och, aye, sir. Whatever ya say.”

In a few seconds, Kirk and the crew were on the beating heart. They could hardly stand. It was like being on a giant trampoline. The beating noise was so loud, Spock covered his pointy ears.

Kirk got out his special Analyzer machine and jabbed it into the squidgy surface of the heart. The machine made a beeping noise and its lights flashed. Kirk handed the Analyzer to Spock. Spock read its small screen.

“Sir, we were right. This is heart. And the animal whose heart it belongs to is the Black Hole Space Blob.”

Kirk and Uhura gasped. They had read about the Black hole Space Blob in space school. They thought it was a myth. Ancient stories told of spacecraft being swallowed by the blob and disappearing forever.

“What are we going to do now?” shouted Uhura above the loud beating.

Kirk sighed. “We must return to ship and find a way out.” He flipped open his communicator and shouted, “Beam us up, Scotty”

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

I like watching Star Trek. Here is the first part of my own Star Trek story.

Swallowed!

It was a quiet day on the U.S.S. Enterprise. Captain Kirk was talking to Spock.

“Last night,” he said, “I heard a strange rumbling, like a big stomach was hungry. Did you hear?”

Spock raised an eyebrow. “No, sir. I didn’t hear it.”

Then Uhura, who was passing by, said. “I heard that noise too, Captain.”

“Maybe it was just a little problem with the engines. I’ll ask Scottie about it later,” said Kirk.

But some time later as they were entering a new Galaxy, Snowdfarsia. The whole ship shook violently. Spock fell off his seat and Zulu slipped down the steps. Captain Kirk was coming back into the bridge and bonked his nose on the doors which didn’t open because of the shaking.

When Kirk recovered, he rushed into the bridge. He stopped suddenly and looked up at the huge window.

“What????!!!!!!!!!????”

The whole sky outside had turned bright green like the fresh grass in a meadow. Kirk didn’t faint but he was so surprised. Spock and Zulu had now stood up and they stared with eyes as big as pineapples at the strange sight. The ship began to shake and wobble and tremble. Everyone grabbed for a seat or a desk or anything they could find.

Spock suddenly spied a black hole in the middle of the green space with white spikey edges that pointed up and down like teeth of an ancient T-Rex.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

In “The Kid,” a movie by Charlie Chaplin, there is a tramp and an orphan. At the beginning, the boy is born and his mother can’t look after him so she leaves him in a rich person’s car. But two naughty crooks steal the car. When they are driving away, they hear the baby scream. They put the baby near a trash can! A little tramp who wears a hat and baggy pants finds the baby. The tramp is called Charlie Chaplin. He takes the baby to his shelter and looks after him.

The boy grows to five years old. He helps the tramp make money. He throws rocks at windows and smashes them. Then, Charlie Chaplin fixes them! And then, after a while, the mean and terrible and horrible orphan catchers come. They try and take the kid away in a truck. But the tramp runs as fast as he can and gets the kid back. Just when he is safe again, the kid’s mom shows up. She wants him back. The tramp is very sad but then the mom says he can come and stay with her and the kid named John.

My favorite part of the movie was when the tramp had the baby hanging up in a basket. The baby was drinking from a teapot! At one point, the baby couldn’t get the teapot but the tramp helped him. The scariest part was when the orphan catchers tried to get the kid. I cried and I felt sad. But then I was happy at the end.

I like Charlie Chaplin because he has a famous and weird walk. He puts his feet out to the sides and his legs make the shape of a lemon. He has a cane that he swings and sometimes he falls down. He makes me laugh.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010

I just did a week long class learning comic art and cartooning with Matt Maley, who is a really great comic artist who used to work at Marvel! This was the cover I made for my comic, Flash B and Speed Rume!

This shows the different stages (below). First, the sketch, then the 'inking in,' and finally adding color with markers and colored pencils.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Here it is. My new movie! This movie took lots of work. There were lots of sets to build, stunts to organize, and clay characters to make. It was really fun! Don't forget to watch the Extras and Outtakes below.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

We went to see the portraits of the presidents at the National Portrait Gallery. Then onto a tour of the Capitol...I took these pictures with my new camera.I got a little tired with all the walking...but a snack and some juice helped!

Saturday, January 16, 2010

I've been reading Mike Venezia's funny and great books about the presidents (we are up to the fifteenth president, James Buchanan). It's fun to be in DC and see the places the presidents lived and worked.